Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated long-serving Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st District Democratic primary on Tuesday, according to multiple news reports. DeGette, who first took office in 1997, had represented the Denver-based district for nearly 30 years.
The Democratic Socialists of America has been expanding its national presence ahead of the latest contest. DSA national co-chair Ashik Siddique told The Guardian the organization now has more than 200 local chapters, 20 with more than 1,000 members, and more than 100,000 members nationwide. He cited notable growth in Macon, Georgia; Sonoma County, California; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Kansas City, Missouri. “We have the correct theory of change. It’s really resonating,” Siddique said.
According to Politico, Kiros rode the same anti-incumbent wave that swept through New York’s Democratic primaries the previous week. On June 23, nine of the 10 New York City candidates backed by the DSA won their primary elections, according to the organization. Among the victors were Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, who defeated two establishment-backed incumbents — including the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — with the help of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, ABC News reported. The New York City chapter wrote in an email after the results: “For the second year in a row we SHOCKED the political establishment and the millionaires who tried to stop our movement.”
Siddique told The Guardian the outcome took him by surprise. “Going into it I was prepared for any range of outcomes, personally — but to have such a solid sweep is incredible,” he said.
The DSA’s membership figures reflect the surge in interest. The New York City chapter had 5,900 due-paying members in the fall of 2024, when it first backed Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. By the eve of the June 23 primary, that number had grown to 14,000. At least 900 more people joined in the first day after the election results emerged.
Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the New York City DSA chapter, told a recent gathering that the organization’s ambitions extend beyond individual electoral victories. “Our ambitions are so much higher than just a position in government,” he said. “We want to transform the world.” He said the DSA needed to “transform DSA into a factory.”
Mamdani’s election as the city’s first immigrant, Muslim, and DSA member mayor in November was described by historian and DSA co-founder Maurice Isserman as a “game changer.” Isserman, who left the DSA after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks over the organization’s response and had predicted a “death spiral” for the group, told The Guardian he had been wrong. “I did not anticipate Zohran,” he said. The New York chapter, he added, “has indeed become the left wing of the possible” and “is really a model for a future American left.”